WASHINGTON — On the one-year anniversary of the Women's March that swelled cities worldwide, activists reconvened Saturday in the nation's capital and around the country with new determination to flex their power in the voting booth and on the ballot.
The gathering also comes on the anniversary of the inauguration of President Trump, whose election in many ways gave the movement its first impetus.
As a sign of the power struggle looming in 2018 between Republicans and Democrats, the march in Washington is playing out against the backdrop of a government shutdown.
Hundreds of local rallies, in cities and towns, were held Saturday across the country, including Oklahoma City, Logan, Utah, Asheville, N.C., Chicago, Seattle, Dallas, Los Angeles and Houston, as well as in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Nairobi and Rome, under the banner the #WeekendofWomen on social media. Other events were planned for Sunday.
In Washington, the rally began at the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial In brisk, 50-degree weather under clear skies. Activists planned to march to the White House. The monument was to stay open, despite the government shutdown.
They turned up with a forest of creative signs, ranging from the humorous to the vulgar. One said simply: "Grab Him by the Mid-terms." Others expressed support for health care, immigration, reproductive rights.
Even organizers were not expecting the huge crowds that swarmed the capital, and other cities, in 2017 in the wake of Trump's election. The rally was sponsored by the Virginia chapter of the Women’s March.
Organizers said the goal was to solidify the movement and use that clout in 2018 elections. In Virginia's statewide races last year, women turned out in huge numbers at the polls and on the ballots as Democrats made expected gains in state legislative races.
"The unifying theme of the movement is: When we vote, we win," movement organizers in Virginia said on their website. "When we stay engaged, we win. When we support each other, we win!"
